Robotic Follicular Unit Graft Selection
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The use of robotic technology to harvest grafts in a follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplant procedure has been available since 2011. A new capability of the robotic system is to harvest follicular units based on the number of hairs they contain to increase the hair/wound yield.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the benefit of follicular unit graft selection during a robotic FUE procedure.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This bilateral controlled study of 24 patients was designed to evaluate the ability of a robotic system to perform follicular unit graft selection.
RESULTS: Compared with random follicular unit harvesting (the method performed by current robotic systems), robotic follicular unit graft selection produced more hairs per harvest attempt (2.60 vs 2.22) and more hairs per graft (2.72 vs 2.44). The clinical benefit of follicular unit graft selection (as measured by the increase in hairs per harvest attempt) was 17.0%. The clinical benefit (as measured by the increase in hairs per graft) was 11.4%. Results were statistically significant at p < .01.
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the ability of robotic follicular unit graft selection to increase the amount of hairs yielded per donor wounds made in an FUE procedure.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 24 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Preliminary Toxicity Analysis of 3DCRT versus IMRT on the High Dose Arm of the RTOG 0126 Prostate Cancer Trial
- Adaptive Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer: Initial Clinical Outcomes from a Prospective Trial
- American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 263: Standardizing Nomenclatures in Radiation Oncology
- Motion Management Strategies and Technical Issues Associated with Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy of Thoracic and Upper Abdominal Tumors: A Review from NRG Oncology
- High-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy as a monotherapy for localized prostate cancer: treatment description and preliminary results of a phase I/II clinical trial
- Highly efficient training, refinement, and validation of a knowledge-based plan quality control system for radiotherapy clinical trials
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.